'Is the gallery new?" "No, we've been here since last November." While most people might consider 11 months to be a rather short existence, gallery assistant Ines seems to think the Leonel Moura Arte space is long established in Santos. In the time they've been there, a furniture retailer has opened on the street and then moved to expand its business, and another new gallery is about to open nearby, so her feeling like an oldtimer in the neighbourhood is perhaps understandable.

Since being branded the Santos Design District in 2005 , this waterside quarter has attract ed artists, designers, architects and other creative types to live, work and play there, no doubt helped by the fact that the Instituto de Artes Visuais, Design e Marketing sits at its centre. Plans are currently underway for a grand, residential and commercial complex to be built by Norman Foster on the area's Boavista site, which will provide a vast area for even more galleries, studios, design outlets, restaurants and bars to emerge.

The traditional sits happily with the modern in Santos, where dusty homes with wrought-iron balconies and 19th-century warehouses share streets with sleek shops, hip cafes and new conversions. A calm area during the day, with a small park and square, at night it gets a little more crowded as restaurants begin to fill and bars come to life. Bairro Alto next door may be better known for its abundance of night life, but what it doesn't have is the Tagus river, which gives Santos its special ambience and is helping fuel its energy for renewal.

• York House (00 351 213 962 435, yorkhouselisboa.com), a boutique hotel in a former carmelite convent on Rua das Janelas Verdes in the city centre, has doubles from €60 per night. Flights from London Heathrow to Lisbon with British Airways (ba.com) from £128 rtn inc tax.

Leonel Moura Arte

Moura, whose studio is next door, took this space last year. It 's a concept gallery with one human artist and several non-human, robotic artists (he programmes them to create paintings). It mainly shows Moura's robot art and other art and science projects. His work can be seen at the International Arts Pestival, which examines insect-human interactivity at London's Southbank Centre next year. Other robots, including one that resides at the Museum of Natural History in New York, are based on the behaviour of ants.• Rua das Janelas Verdes, 76 (00351 21 396 7261, leonelmoura.com).

Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga

Just down the road from Leonel Moura's gallery, but in total contrast , this 17th-century palace contains Portuguese and European works from the middle ages to the early 19th century. If you don't want to see Nuno Gonçalves's famous Saint Vincent panels, avoid shelling out for a ticket and head to the terrace cafe or gardens to sit among the statues and enjoy a cake overlooking the Tagus.• Rua das Janelas Verdes (+21 391 2800, mnarteantiga-ipmuseus.pt).

A Modesta da Pampuhla

Retired residents, builders, students and anyone wanting good, cheap, traditional food tend to fill up this familyrun tasca that's been here since 1920.

Choose fresh sardines or dourada from the grill which sits between two large tiled dining rooms.• Rua do Olival, 288.

Left

Contemporary architects Ricardo Carvalho and Joana Vilhena were responsible for turning a neglected truck garage into this minimalist, boxy bar. A glass facade connects the inside with the square outside, so passersby can gawp at the trendy young hacks, artists and musicians.

The atmosphere's relaxed though, with decent DJs on the decks. Yugo Dee and DJ Lad — who also spin at equally hip Estado Liquido round the corner — are among the regulars playing electronica, old soul, funk and indie-pop.• Largo Vitorino Damásio, 3f (+21 395 1227).

Paris-Sete Concept

Next door to the larger Paris-Sete store which has an impressive display of furniture, lighting and home furnishings, Concept stocks a range of more portable mid-century design classics. Even grown-ups may appreciate the Alexander Girard wooden dolls, originally made for his Santa Fe home in 1963, while kids can pick from reissued books by Ann and Paul Rand, Enzo Mari's creative games or sweet, cuddly characters handmade by Lisbon-based lifestyle brand La Maison de Lola.• Largo Vitorino Damásio, 2 (+21 393 3170, paris-sete.com).

Meninos do Rio

Kubo, with its fashionconscious crowd, white leather beds and shallow water features that make you feel you're inches from the Tagus, has closed for the winter, but Meninos is a great riverside cafe alternative and is open year-round. The music can veer towards smoove grooves, but the soundtrack doesn't seem so wrong when sipping a caipirinha by the moonlit water.• Rua da Cintura do Porto de Lisboa, Armazém, 255 (+ 21 324 2910).

Yasmin

Owners Lara Branco and Rui Reino have managed to combine cosiness and a cool, modern feel at this restaurant, with earthy tones and Saarinen tulip chairs decorating the small dining room. Chef Gualberto Casaca da Silva's fusion menu is infl uenced by Mediterranean and Asian styles, while offering updates on Portuguese dishes. Upstairs a DJ play s jazz, and loos offering CCTV of live street scenes, just in case you don't want to miss a beat.• Rua da Moeda, 1a (+ 21 393 0074) yasmin-lx.com).